Farewell Appearance
by Josephine Rayne
Summary: As Dan prepares to graduate he wonders how he can leave Plumfield, friends and a girlfriend behind.Then when tragedy strikes nothing is left certain. Completed!
1. The Curtain Rises

Little Men

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Men in any way.

A/N: Ages based on "Philanthropy" and "Stepping Out" and there are also references to several of the other episodes in Little Men's run.

"Farewell Appearance"

By: Josephine Rayne

Chapter One: The Curtain Rises

Part I

The Setting: June of 1875

Eighteen year old Dan blinked back sleep as his bare feet fell to the floor. He looked around curiously as each bed were neatly, but crudely made, the view from the window remained the same, but still the scene that surrounded him was not as it should. There were no playful shoves, no lost shoes, or uncombed hair; the room stayed quiet, an oddity for the wee mornings of Plumfield.

Unbalanced, Dan managed to get dressed as quickly as he could, franticly searching for a clock. Satisfied at his hastily put together appearance the young man bounced down the stairs.

"I was wondering when you would decide to come down." Asia replied laughing to herself as she cleaned up the numerous dishes that lined the table. "Ms. Jo said not to wake you, a graduate should be able to get himself up." she laughed longer. "Breakfast was over an hour ago. Everyone is already assembled in the classroom."

Dan sighed, thanked Asia and grabbed a piece of bread as he hurried toward the door. Though Jo sent Dan a nasty look as he slid into his seat, it wasn't until after class had ended that the lecture began.

"Even though you are graduating next week doesn't mean that you can come to class anytime you wish, I thought learning was important to you Dan?" Josephine Riley questioned the tall dark haired man.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Jo, I just overslept is all." Dan replied wishing she would hurry so he could go to work. For the past few months, he had been earning a few extra dollars at the Gillian homestead, where he helped the other men build the homestead.

Jo nodded, "Alright. You can go."

Nick and Jo had finally married two years earlier, and a daughter, Samantha, followed a year later, adding to the numerous changes that had occurred in Plumfield over the past few years. Meg's twins, Daisy and Demi had arrived at Plumfield to start their schooling, and long since married, Franz and Isabelle were returning for the summer with their children Johann and Lily. With them, brought the end of the school year and Emil and Dan would be leaving Plumfield as graduates.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jo." Dan replied rushing past her and into the main house. Arriving in the boy's common bedroom, he found the rest of his friends heavy in conversation.

"Where are you going to go, Dan?" sixteen year old Nat asked watching Dan search for his work supplies. Truthfully, Nathaniel Blake was glad that he had two more years before his own graduation. Hoping to go to Harvard like Franz had done, Nat still could not decide whether music or writing was his passion. Not to mention finishing his schooling here meant leaving Plumfield, the only home and family he had ever known.

"Are you going to head out West like you've always wanted?" Fifteen year old Tommy questioned.

"Not sure what my plans are." Dan replied lying slightly, they all would find out soon enough what he planned to do.

"But, what are you going to be?" said eighteen year old Emil the only other graduating student. "How are you going to support yourself?"

"Maybe I'll become a sheriff some place. Besides I have money saved up. Which is why I have to go to work now." he replied heading towards the door.

"What about you Emil?" Nat asked.

"Join my uncle." Emil stated. "Then I'll-"

"-May we please stop talking about this?" newly turned seventeen year old Bess interrupted as she and sixteen year old Nan joined in the conversation.

Bess was afraid. Afraid of the future and afraid that her mother would be right. Dan would leave Plumfield, travel the world, find someone else or some grand adventure and never return. "These things happen." her mother had said when she learned of their courting two years before. "You are both too young to decide on anything. There are many men you might meet and fancy." She sighed as the talk switched to summer fun and Dan slipped out the door.

Dan Madison smiled happily to himself, though exhausted from the back breaking labor of building the homestead, as he held tightly to the hard earned paper money in his hand.

"Finally saved enough, lad?" the store keeper replied as he reached from behind the counter and brought out a small square package. "I'm sure your sweetheart will be pleased."

With the package and the train ticket placed securely in his breast pocket, Dan approached the gates of Plumfield.

"Oh you are back. Aunt Jo wants you to help Tommy set the table." Bess replied as she saw Dan enter the house.

Dan stopped, placing his hand on the wall, struggling to focus on his vision and breath. "Not hungry."

"Are you alright?" Bess question brushing the hair out of Dan's eyes. "I'll get Aunt Jo."

"No, Bess I'm fine. Just dizzy is all. " Bess stared at Dan and then turned to help with dinner.

"Wait, I want to show ya something. Come on the porch," Dan said his vision and breathing returning to normal, but his nervousness was now beginning to swell within him. "I have never been much good with these kind of things. But there is something I've been meaning to ask ya," the young man stated pulling Bess over to the swinging chair. "Bess Laurence, would you do me the pleasure of being your husband?" he pulled out the small box that lay in his pocket and inside a brilliant engagement ring glistened. "We wouldn't get married now of course, in a couple of years. I have a ticket to California in my pocket , but I want you to know that I'm gonna come back for ya…. I love ya, Bess."

Bess smiled her fears had been unfounded after all. "Yes, I'll be your wife." She replied happily as she reached up and kissed her fiancée.

"You're what!" Amy Laurence shouted as she turned to her husband. "Laurie, she's only seventeen years old!"

"Now Amy, they did say they would wait two years. " Laurie replied trying to calm down his wife as Jo sat comfortably on the chair.

"You are right. That's plenty of time for things to change." said Mrs. Laurence giving her husband a dirty look in response. "You are a very nice boy, Dan. But, there are things that you will never be able to give our daughter. Right now you are enjoying each other's company, but soon you will realize that you are just not compatible with each other." Amy was telling the truth, throughout the years she had watched Dan grow into a brave, charming, sweet and a bit rebellious, young man, and thus she had grown to like Dan. However, that certainty did not mean that she had wanted her daughter to court Dan, nevertheless marry him! He was an orphan with no financial stability to call his own. Amy wanted her daughter to live in the same lifestyle Bess had been accustomed to all her life. She did not want to see Bess living hand to mouth like Amy and her sisters had growing up, especially when Father was away in the war. Bess deserved all that high society could offer her: riches, parties, travel-not the life that a cowboy sheriff could offer her.

"Amy!" Jo replied nearly jumping up from her seat. "This is a joyous occasion we should be celebrating." Jo was as uncertain about this engagement as her younger sister seemed to be, they were both so young and so inexperienced, but Jo also knew how short life was. Fritz and Beth had been taken from her so suddenly that Jo believed if Bess and Dan really cared for each other why not let them see what the next two years had in store for them?

"No Mrs. Jo, she's right. I'm not rich or fancy , I can't give Bess, what you want for her, Paris, London, a fancy house. But, I hope to give her more than that." Dan replied getting angry.

Bess held a tighter grip on Dan's hand. "Mother, Dan and I will be married." stated Bess as she walked over to her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I will see you tomorrow, Father."


	2. The Scene Changes

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Two: The Scene Changes

Plumfield was in a buzz with the news of Dan and Bess' engagement and the arrival of Franz and Isabelle only made things that more exciting. Franz had left Arizona, attended Harvard and then went back to marry Isabelle and teach at the local school. Ranching and marriage had actually seemed to agree with the scholar and little Johann Fritz Bhaer was born soon after, with Lily following him the next year. Now, the four year old Johann and three year old Lily were into absolutely everything, taking after Isabelle of course. The last day of class instigated the beginning of summer and Emil and Dan's completion of their schooling. Emil had hopes of becoming a sailor someday. Yet, his uncle, of course, would see to it that Emil had completed the remainder of his education at the very best university. And the newly engaged Dan was looking forward to adventures in California. Jo couldn't have been more pleased. Her students had grown to be fine young men and while she was sad to see them go, she wished all the best for Dan and Emil and she knew that Fritz would have been pleased as well.

"You're home." Jo replied as she stepped on to the gravel carrying little Sam on her hip and then kissing her husband. "How was Boston?"

" 'Bout the same." Nick stated kissing Jo and his daughter. "Bess and Dan engaged-that little devil. I had no idea." Family life agreed with Nick Rielly, while the sea still called to him, he was more then willing to give up that life for Jo and his daughter.

"It is quite a shock…This little miss has a surprise for you." said Jo as she put the little dark haired girl on the ground. Slowly and a bit wobbly Sam placed one foot in front of the other, until she had reached her father's feet. Behind them nearly half the household had appeared on the porch to greet Nick home.

All except Dan.

The young man sat on his bed holding a towel to his nose to stop the bleeding that was seeping out from it. Unbeknownst, to any one, but himself, this hadn't been his first nose bleed. For months, he had hidden these nuisances from everyone around him, blaming it on his nerves and excitement. Getting up to head back downstairs before he was noticed, Dan's weakness gave in and the boy tumbled down the flight of stairs.

Dan lay resting in his bed, fortunately he had not broken any bones, but that was the least of his worries. Everyone had gathered around Dr. Pierce and, his nurse, Nan in the boy's bedroom. The last time Dan had been in bed like this had been when he had sprained his ankle when he had gotten lost in the woods with Nan. That seemed so long ago to Dan, they all were just kids then, with nothing more to worry about then what punishment Mrs. Jo was going to give them. Now he was ready to leave them all and that scared Dan more then anything. What if California turned out to be nothing like how he expected it to be? What if he never became a sheriff? What if he came back to Plumfield with nothing to offer Bess? With nothing to show Mrs. Laurence that he would be a good husband to her daughter?

"I wish I had better news to share." Dr. Pierce began, it was hard to look at anyone in the room now. "I'd have to take a blood sample to confirm my diagnosis, but I think it will just state what I already know."

"I thought you said he was fine?" Bess stated worried as she moved over toward her fiancée and took his hand.

"Far from it young lady. The nose bleeds, weakness, dizziness, fatigue. I'm sure you have been noticing this for months Dan and that you've been feeling a lot worse then you've let on." Dr. Pierce continued.

"What exactly is wrong with Dan, Dr. Pierce?" Jo questioned.

This time it was Nan, who stood so unusually quiet, who spoke up. Nan had become Dr. Pierce's nurse when she turned sixteen. Hopefully, once she finished Plumfield, she would go to medical school and become a doctor. Tonight reminded Nan of the first patient that she had seen die when she was only thirteen years old. Dr. Pierce had thought she was too fragile and well- too female- to continue helping him with his practice-she had proved him wrong. Still, now as she prepared herself to tell her friend that he would not be getting better she couldn't help, but want to runaway and hide. "He has the cancer. He's dying…months at most."

Silence engulfed the room. It seemed that in a matter of moments, all the happiness that had inhabited the household was suddenly let go.

Dan knew he would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn't felt tired and drained for several months, but he had figured that the work he was doing at the homestead, the excitement of going out West, and Bess' answer to his proposal had caused it. That had to be it, Dr. Pierce did say that he had to do more tests. This couldn't be the end of his life, heck he hadn't even started it yet.

Finally, it was Nat who broke the silence. "You can't just say that. Dr. Pierce. You can't just give up. Dan's young and strong. There must be something you can do?" This was not the way that it would end for Dan. It couldn't be. It was Dan who saved Nat from the streets of Boston, who helped him time and time again, who became a big brother to him. Nat also knew how much Dan wanted to see the world and how much he loved Bess- he was only eighteen years old-his friend deserved to do all these things, to die an old man perhaps a father or off on some adventure in some foreign country.

"I am sorry." Dr. Pierce said and then turned to leave. "He will continue on like this this for awhile, days maybe weeks, and then his symptoms will worsen, there will be nothing you or I can do to save him… again I'm sorry,I'll see myself out."

When the household had finally left Dan to his thoughts, he felt numb. What was he to do now? He was suppose to be on a train in two days, he was suppose to marry Bess in two years. Should he leave and let whatever was suppose to happen to him happen away from all that knew him? Or should he stay and become a burden to his family?

He needed to think. The weakness that he'd felt just before the fall had past now. Today he felt as good as ever, perhaps Dr. Pierce would find another diagnosis once the blood test was done. Perhaps all this fear was for nothing, perhaps he was just fine after all. Dan would ask Nan, the doctor must have conducted the test by now. Mrs. Jo had forbidden Dan to get out of bed, but it of course was not in Dan's nature to stay put or do what he was told.

"Nan?" Dan called as he found his young blonde haired friend. Against all her protests Nan had bloomed into a real lady, her once short straight hair was now flowing and long, though often uncombed. She would be quite a beauty if she cared and Dan knew that other men then Nat were sweet on her. Tommy was always by her side asking if he could help her with some experiment or another, but Nan would have none of it and saw only her medical degree in front of her eyes. Besides, Nat was still too shy to do anything about it. Dan knew Nat and Nan would be together eventually, but that would be some time yet.

"I'm really busy right now Dan. Anyhow you should be resting." She was avoiding Dan, wrestling with her guilt.

"I feel fine." Dan replied, wondering why Nan was ignoring him. "Which is why I wanted to ask you: what were the results of the blood test?"

Nan turned to look at Dan, but then couldn't look him in the eye. She had failed him, failed them all, Dr. Pierce and herself. Why hadn't she seen the signs? Why hadn't she noticed? How could she save others when she couldn't save her friend? "Same as before….He even called in a specialist from Boston. Everything points to cancer."

"Well," Dan thought. "I guess I am dying."


	3. To Enter or to Exit

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Three: To Enter or to Exit

Dan was jealous of Emil. It actually pained Dan to think it, because he could remember so many times, when Emil had gotten under his skin and drove him insane. But ,over the years both men had grown up and put away some of the childish acts of youth. Now Emil was leaving Dan behind, going off to do whatever life had in store for him and Dan was left alone to die.

He was only eighteen years old, it wasn't right that he was going to loose his life before it even started. Perhaps, Dan should leave Plumfield and take that train west? Have some adventures before the end and go out more alive then ever.

He loved Bess, more than anything, but how could he let her watch him die? How could he allow himself to become a burden to all who loved him? Dan needed to leave- to do the things he had planned before Bess…before Plumfield.

He was not afraid to die alone.

Jo sighed as Nick helped her down from the carriage. The past two weeks since Plumfield had learned of Dan's ailment had been plagued with sorrow. Franz, Isabelle, Johann, and Lily were planning to leave the next morning and now Emil was gone. They had just seen Emil off, as his uncle, the Captain, had taken him to Boston to enroll at Harvard and she was sad to see him go.

Jo also felt helpless, Dan had become like a son to her and now she could do nothing to help him. He was in a fit of melancholy, barley talking to anyone, staying in his room or going off to town by himself. Dr. Pierce claimed that it was natural for the boy to do such things, as he had obviously received quite a shock, but Jo didn't want Dan to push everyone away when she knew he need them most.

He seemed so sad and so angry, something she hadn't seen in Dan since he was a boy. She remember when he found out that he was Dan Madison, and how excited he had been to have some connection to his family ; only to find out that that had not been his name at all-to find out that he might never know who his parents were or who he had been before an officer found him on Madison Ave.

It was not just Dan who was affected. Nan pored over her medical textbooks, vowing to become more knowledgeable then ever, for the women's college and then medical school she would attend in the next two yearsShe was so determined to become a doctor, no matter what anyone said about it not being a lady's place. Nat sent telegraphs to every doctor he could think of off and on the continent, trying everything to save his friend. Bess simply painted, happy and peaceful things mostly, as if she was trying to paint away everything that was around her. The other players of Plumfield played their respective parts, parts that proved that time stops for no one. Life moves on wither anyone wants it too, and what Dan didn't realize was that the bit of life that he had left was slipping away.

The morning of Franz's departure arrived sooner then anyone would have liked. There was something so calming and peaceful knowing that everyone that one loved was right where they belonged-to see the innocence of little Johann and Lily, of Sam while she watched her older cousins. While burdens fell heavily on the adults, the children were in playful bliss.

"We'll see you again soon Aunt Jo, I promise." Franz stated as he hugged his aunt goodbye. He hated to leave this place, this place of his childhood, his family, and he hated to leave Dan even more. They had been at odds with each other when Dan had entered adolescence, but Franz saw a kindred spirit in the young man-his most challenging student yet. Thus, it was fitting that it was then, that the recluse emerged from the house.

"I'm coming with you." he stated.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Jo replied, turning her attention to the dark haired man.

"I bought a ticket to California weeks ago. I reckon I'd better use it. " Dan countered, just as serious as ever.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere." Jo stated, further looking to Nick for support, as he gave her a sympathetic look back. He understood Dan's frustration and his passion to take control over his own death. But, Nick also realized his wife's worry.

"I'm fine." replied Dan firmly.

"But we're engaged." Bess stated suddenly, breaking the almost silent disposition she had been in.

"No. We're not." the young man said angrily. He felt stagnated and helpless here, he wanted to continue with his plans as if nothing had ever happened. That way he could pretend that nothing had.

"You don't mean that." Bess continued. Now, she was getting angry. She had thought she had lost everything when Dr. Pierce said Dan was dying, but really she hadn't. Dan was still here, they could still be happy.

"I should leave, I don't want to hurt any of you, especially you. I don't want you to watch me die." Dan stated softening his tone and bringing Bess away from the rest of the group.

"If you do leave, you will hurt me," Bess stated. They were both so stubborn. Bess had realized that she was going to be a widow whether she actually had a ring on her finger or not. Why not get married, this way she'd have nothing to regret. "I still want to marry you, Dan."

He was dying, not in years, but in days. He had made himself give up the hope of marrying Bess, though he loved her more then anything. But, Bess still wanted the marriage as Dan had before he had gotten sick-maybe he could accomplish something in the short time he had left.

All he could hope for was nothing more now but happiness. Maybe leaving wasn't the answer at all. Heading out west was only a dream he had when he had been a boy and had had no home to call his own. A dream he would of accomplished when he known he'd be back, but now he wouldn't be.

"Yes, I will marry you, Bess."

"You still mad?" Dan asked Mrs. Jo as he put on his suit three days later. Just as before, Bess and Dan met the opposition of nearly everyone in the household. Mostly the concern was for Bess, but she was set in her ways, stating she would marry Dan with or without her parents' permission. In the end, it was Jo who convinced her sister and Laurie. They didn't know how much longer Dan would be with them and she didn't want to push the pair away.

"No," she smiled. "I just want you to be happy."

He wanted to say to her that she had been like a mother to him-the only mother he had ever really ever known- but he just couldn't seem to say it, and hoped that she knew anyway.

Bess and Dan stood before the minister hand in hand, the church decorated in fine flowers, Nan and Nat playing their respective roles as best man and maid of honor. Nick and Jo standing nearby smiling happily, Laurie beaming at his daughter as he gave her away, and Amy sullen and worried, unsure of what was in store for her Bess.


	4. Farewell Appearance

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Four: Farewell Appearance

Summer creped into Concord and soon June turned into August. It seemed for awhile at least, that Dan had never been sick at all, that it all had been a mistake, as the pair enjoyed a holiday in New York and then moved into Franz's old room. Samantha was now talking and running a mock around Plumfield. Nan's guilt was subsiding and Nat digested the returned telegraphs detailing what he already knew. However, all good things could not last. Before long, Dan was back to hiding nosebleeds, fatigue and shortness of breath. Ordinary tasks were getting too hard for him to do yet, Dan protested as hard as he could. Now that he had a new wife he vowed to slow down his prognosis as best he could.

Besides Bess was hiding a secret of her own.

Dan looked up at Bess as he blinked back sleep. He swung his legs to the floor and used the mattress beneath him, as support, to made himself stand. "What time is it?"

"Nearly past one." Bess replied setting down a cup of coffee by the bedside and reaching up to kiss her husband.

"I need to get up. Help with the chores. I know, Nat and Nick will need some help, breaking in that new horse." stated the ever determined Dan.

"No one hardly expects you to-"Bess countered trying to ease Dan back into bed. She was not oblivious to the un-restful nights of chills, fever, sweats, cough, and abdominal pain that were there one night and gone the next. Times when he could barely get out of bed and the other times when was as fit and able as ever. These days that left a glimmer of hope, that were then snatched away as quickly as they came.

"No one hardly expects me to do anything." the husband replied ignoring Bess' protests and wandering the room for the rest of his clothes.

"Dr. Pierce said, if you work and exhaust yourself you'll di-"she stopped.

"Faster or longer, what does it matter, the outcomes the same," Dan was tired of having the same argument with his wife. He was a vibrant, tempestuous, young adult trapped in the shell of an old man. This body, sick and fading, was failing him faster then any could realize. The fire in him had burned out and seized forever.

Dan was trying his best to live in the present, to avoid thinking about what and whom he would be leaving behind, that would only make things that much harder. Unfortunately, Bess was not ready to let him go. "I'll be outside."

In their nearly three months of marriage, a wall had grown between the pair, ever since they had returned from New York, in July, and Dan had gotten worse. Dan seemed to have become so calm and unbothered by all that was around him. To Bess, it seemed like he was letting go of them all, including her. How could he do that if he loved them? How could he not feel the same fear and sadness that swept through her?

Still, Bess was also keeping certain things from her husband as well. Like the fact that her monthly hadn't arrived in a month or so and nausea and back pain had begun to develop. That finally Dr. Pierce had confirmed her fears that she was in fact with child. Now, she was scared and confused, not telling anyone about her condition. What would she do now? What would she do when Dan was gone?

Bess remembered what her parents had said to her when she wanted to marry Dan, how she fought with them to be allowed to do so.

"Sweetheart, this is not a good idea," Jo replied in the parlor with Amy, Laurie, Nick, Dan and Bess. "You don't want to be left a widow."

"I agree. This is absurd." Amy had stated.

"Bess honey, I know how much you and Dan care for each other, but think about what you are doing." Laurie argued. "You're still young and still have school to finish. What if you were to have a child. Would you want to raise it by yourself?"

Though, Aunt Jo and her father had come around, perhaps they had been right all along. Their fear and concern that Bess had resented before had proved founded after all.

"Do you miss being unattached, Nick-your ships?" Dan replied as he raked the hay into the stable and brushing away his growing urge to sit down.

"Nah, that was a whole other life. Jo, Sam, Rob, you boys and the others they mean more to me then the seas," Nick stated looking towards the house. "Why so quiet Nat?" the elder continued as Nat stared off into the distance.

"You know, Nat. He's always quiet. Ain't ya, Nat?" Dan joked lightly shoving his friend.

Nat laughed back uneasily. As usual, Nat's mind was always going, and he saw behind any façade that Dan put in front of him. Nat had excepted that there was nothing he could do to save his friend, but he could not except the fact that Dan was dying. Sure, they had all been in terrible, dangerous situations before, half of them had been with Dan. But, nothing could compare to this. Dead was dead and nothing could change it.

"Are you alright there, Dan?" Nick questioned as he noticed Dan was now leaning against the wall, carefully pacing his breaths, a handkerchief covering the blood seeping from his nose. Through out this whole ordeal, Nick had believed that Dr. Pierce had been giving up on Dan too soon, just as they had all given up on Penny, but now, as he saw just how sick he was, Nick knew that Dan's time truly was coming to an end.

"I think I'd better rest awhile." Dan replied heading towards the door, but before he could catch himself, his body collapsed towards the ground.

Dr. Pierce came out of the bedroom not long there after, proclaiming what they all had avoided to hear before. "He's exhausted his body. I'd say he has hours maybe days left. Keep him as comfortable as possible. Let me know if anything changes." the doctor stated placing a hand on Bess' shoulder and then leaving the room.

Nat was among the first to see Dan. It was strange to see his friend, his brother, his hero really, looking so pale and weak; when only hours before had been making jokes with him.

"I want to you do something for me." Dan replied bluntly.

"What? Anything?" Nat said taking a seat next to the bed.

"Take care of Bess for me. Don't go marrying her or anythin', just make sure she's alright." the ailing man joked.

"I will." Nat nodded he had already promised that to himself-he would take care of Bess for Dan.

"Take care of yourself too-you won't have me to protect ya anymore," Dan started smiling. "And don't take so long to go after Nan." There were other things that he wished to tell his friend, like how Nat had always looked after Dan and had been his family when he had had none, but like always he wasn't very good with words. Still, Dan found contentment, in his small parting bit of advise, for the young, Nathaniel Blake.

"Are you going to tell him or should I?" Nan questioned pulling her blonde haired companion away from the sadden crowd, while Nat and Dan talked inside.

"What on earth are you talking about Nan?" Bess stated angrily staring down Nan's judging eyes.

"About the baby. I know you haven't told Dan. He has a right to know."

Bess softened. "Don't tell him, please Nan. He's already excepted dying. I don't want to make it harder for him." It would just be too cruel to do to him, to make him want to linger when he couldn't-as much as Bess wanted Dan to. "He's my husband and it's our child, I know how to handle this."

All of Plumfield had made its way to Dan's bedchamber to say whatever they felt had to be said before it was too late. Dan stayed as cheerful and vibrant as he could possibly be, but soon his symptoms overcame him and sleep came. Jo watched this young man whom she had watched grow, and remembered her own sister Beth's death not so long ago. It was then, like now, that she had watched the youth and life stolen from a once so alive body. She was loosing Beth all over again, she was loosing Dan, she was loosing a son.

Bess stayed with Dan throughout the night keeping a watchful vigilance until finally sleep overcame her too. It was then that Daniel Madison finally let go.

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

…Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

-As You Like It by William Shakespeare

A/N: More to come it doesn't end here!

Info Credit: Google search on Leukemia and the 5 Stages of Death and Grieving & also my Psychology notes.


	5. Enter Two

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Five: Enter Two

It wasn't before long, that Bess just could not conceal her pregnancy, from those around her as two months became four. It was November now and the air had begun to turn cold. Summer had left its cruel mark on Plumfield and now had retreated from once it came.

The young girl that Bess had been was gone. Nan could see that clearly. When Dan died the light had gone out of her eyes. She was a woman- a mother, the Bess that Nan knew was no longer there. The doctor in Nan was unsure of what to do to help her widowed friend. She wasn't eating and she wasn't sleeping. It was as if she had given up on life once life had given up on Dan.

It didn't help matters much that Amy had refused to speak to her daughter once she found out about the baby, yelling: "I can't believe you let this happen! We told you not to marry him! Now look you're left alone and with child! How could he have let this happen!" Even Mrs. Jo could do nothing to calm her sister this time, stating: "They both decided. He's dead Amy, I think they've been punished enough." In the end, though she had never truly cared for Mrs. Laurence, Nan couldn't help feeling the same as Amy about the situation. The baby would take Bess away from school and the life of luxury that Amy wanted for her. She wanted her to travel and paint. Not be a seventeen year old mother.

Nan had lived most of her life without her mother and she knew how cruel it was for a child to grow up with out the guidance of both parents. At least Nan had been able to have a mother, even if it was only for a short time. Both Nat and Nick could hardly even remember theirs and Dan hadn't known whose his were. Now, Bess was going to do the same to Dan's child, forcing it to always wonder who he or she were. It wasn't fair.

For Bess, who had always known her mother and father, and had had all her family around her, she had probably never even wondered what a lack of a father would do to a child. But for Nan who had lived it, she couldn't help but feel anger to her friend and to Dan. She had thought it had been illogical for the pair to get married in the first place and now this. Bess was hurt, the baby would be hurt, and Dan had died without even knowing he was to become a father.

Still, it didn't take long for Bess' poor treatment of herself to catch up with her and the baby. When finally, it was Nat who convinced her to take care of the child of the man, whom she had been so determined to marry and whom she claimed to love. Nat usually so quiet stood sternly as he told Bess that Dan would not have wanted Bess to give up on herself. He would have wanted her to live the many years she had left. Thus, even though Dan had thought he hadn't left a mark with his life, had in fact left a huge gap, that Nat was sure would never be filled.

The other students were engrossed in another year of study at Plumfield. Bess continued to attend but Nat knew that she most likely would not finish her last year. Nat tried to take Dan's advise to heart but there wasn't much he could do for Bess when the despair that she felt was one that he felt as well. Furthermore, Nan had buried herself once again in her studies. Therefore, it was difficult for Nat to show his affection for her.

It seemed that Plumfield was unraveling at the seams.

"How is she today?" Meg Brooks questioned her sister. What her niece was facing now was something that Meg and Jo had experienced and never wished on anyone, least of all Bess. "Amy keeps asking me to check up on her. I wish she'd just come herself." Meg continued. With Daisy and Demi at school now it was common for Meg to feel lonely in that house all by herself. Perhaps in time Harrison and herself would become engaged but for now she was alone.

November had made way for March. Thanksgiving and Christmas had seemed to pass by Plumfield, though no one minded, because none was in the mood for it anyhow. It was one thing to have the people they cherished die suddenly from one ailment or another, but to painfully watch the slow death of someone so young had damaged them all, and to see Bess struggle with a pregnancy alone and the realization that she would have to raise the child alone thereafter saddened the house as well.

Bess had barely spoken since Dan's death eight months before, she hadn't painted or spent time with the other students of Plumfield. And now as Meg went upstairs to visit with her niece, Bess seemed fit to deliver her child on her own.

"The baby's coming!" Bess yelled through a contraction. "Help me, Aunt Meg."

Before long it seemed that nearly all of the women of Plumfield had arrived in Bess' room. Jo and Meg held firmly to their niece's hands reassuring her that everything would in deed be alright, while Nurse Nan helped the baby along with Asia by her side. They had sent Nick to fetch Dr. Pierce, Laurie and Amy but he nor they had returned.

"I need Dan!" Bess cried out as her baby slid into the world. The new mother lay back in exhaustion, unsure of what to do with the child.

"It's a girl," Nan cried happily holding up her best friend's child, and then the newborn made herself comfortable in Bess' arms. However, she began to feel another contraction. "There's another one coming!"

Meg smiled. "I guess it runs in the family, sweetheart." she stated thinking about her own twins, getting into some sort of trouble she was sure, around the house.

"Push!" called out Nan handing the little girl to Asia. Jo and Meg held Bess' back up so she could push harder, while the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Amy Laurence.

"Dr. Pierce is in Boston," the grandmother stated. "Are you alright, Bess?" Forgetting for a moment, the eight months in which, she had not spoken to her daughter and it seemed that Bess had forgotten as well, as she reached out for her mother's hand.

"You have a baby boy," the nurse raised up the crying baby for Bess to see but the young women had fallen unconscious. "She's hemorrhaging!"

The twins cried, unaware of the peril their mother was in, as their Great Aunt Josephine and Great Aunt Margaret, lifted them up and took the children into the hall for their grandfather and the rest of Plumfield to see, as Nan shooed all out of Bess' bedchamber. However, Amy was a force to be reckoned with and refused to leave her daughter's side while Nan tried all that she could to save her friend. Perhaps the poor health that Bess had plagued upon herself since Dan's death had made her weak, too weak for the birth of two, or perhaps she had given up on life completely.

Fortunately for the unnamed boy and girl, their mother clung still to life and Nan's ability saved her; restoring her faith in herself and medicine.

Meg eased herself into Bess' room, giving the twins back to their mother. "When are these two going to get a name?" Meg sang softly a lullaby, smiling down at the sleeping children.

"Hannah Rose Anthea Madison." Bess confirmed kissing her daughter's and then her son's face. "And Daniel William Madison, Junior."

"Hannie and Danny." Mrs. Brooks dubbed them.

"I don't think I can do this, Aunt Meg," From the moment she laid eyes on Hannah Rose and Daniel, she had fallen in love with them, but every look also jabbed a pain so fierce into her heart. Her daughter's head full of dark almost black hair, Danny's sparkling brown eyes and the way his lips seems to turn up exactly how his father's did, all reminded Bess of Dan. "Mother was right."

"I know it hasn't been that long since Dan's death. But, Bess you made a decision and now you have to honor it. It's about them now not you. " Meg continued. "When John died I felt the same way you do now, but Demi and Daisy had to come first. "

All that she knew had faded so quickly once Daniel Looking Forward Madison had been put into the ground. Perhaps she should do what his name dictated, and not worry about what had been or what might have been. All the love that she felt for Dan, she would pour into his children and she vowed to never speak of him again.


	6. The Curtain Rises Again

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Six: The Curtain Rises Again

It was an accident how Bess ran into Jacob Davis.

She had been in the general store, picking up a Christmas gift, for her father, when she nearly knocked Jacob over with her baby carriage, erupting in a loud cry from nine month old Danny and Hannie. Danny went right back to sleep but the ever stubborn and feisty Miss Madison refused to return to her slumber. Jacob offered a ride back into Plumfield and one year six months after what would have been Dan and Bess' wedding anniversary and one year four months after Dan's death, Bess found herself enjoying the company of another man.

The twenty two year old Jacob Davis, a quiet and humble carpenter, who lived on the outskirts of Concord, spoke nervously to the beautiful and radiant Bess, his reddish brown hair pushed under a wide brimmed hat. His manner reminded Bess a little of her father and a little like Nat.

"I know your parents, Mrs. Madison. I did some work at their place a few years back." Jacob spoke quickly. He couldn't be any more different then Dan-perhaps that's what attracted Bess to him in the first place.

"Really? And please call me Bess. Actually I haven't decided whether to stay at Plumfield or move back home," Bess continued. "I think my parents would spoil Hannah Rose and Danny to much… I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Jacob laughed unsure of what to say. "I haven't seen you in town much."

"People like to talk." Bess reasoned. "Besides I haven't seen you in town much either."

"I don't stay in Concord. My family lives in Boston. But, I don't like big cities." Jacob's hazel eyes looked down at the floor. "I was sorry to hear about your husband."

Bess waved him off with the back of her hand, but responded with a simple, "Thank you." Within moments the buggy had approached the gates of Plumfield. As Jacob helped Bess down from the rig she couldn't help but let her eyes linger and meet his gaze. There was a sweet softness about Jacob that she saw in them. But as her eyes moved toward the sleeping faces of her husband's children, she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

There comes a time when a child realizes that her parents are only human and on occasion they make mistakes. Amy may have been harsh with Bess but she did it only to protect her. Now as a mother Bess realized just how far a mother would go to make sure that her children where loved and cared for. Thus she ignored Jacob at first, even when he began calling on her nearly once a week. Hannah and Danny didn't need to loose someone else in their lives, if Jacob and Bess proved incompatible after all. Besides even though she had vowed to move on, Dan still held the pieces of her heart.

But Jacob though gentle, was persistent and didn't give up until she accompanied him on a picnic on Walden Pond. She couldn't help but think of her Aunt Jo and Nick, and how hard it must have been for Jo to let go of Uncle Fritz-how in the end she eventually had to.

Ten months later, Bess turned the metal band gently around her finger. Tenderly she slipped the gold ring off her finger looking at it with despair. It was suppose to symbolize marriage-a marriage that hadn't even lasted more than four months. How cruel fate can be she thought to herself. Still, it was time to move on just as her aunts had done. She would marry Jacob-she cared for him and perhaps in time she'd love him as she'd love Dan. Bess walked away from the grave and behind her the ring sparkled in the sunlight.

Part II

The Setting: June of 1894

Bess became Mrs. Elizabeth Davis when the twins were over a year old. She herself was only nineteen. To honor Dan she had named their son after him but Daniel William Madison, Jr. would have no part of it and by age two he was calling Jacob, Papa. When Jacob and Bess' first child Emma, was born two years later, Danny renamed himself William Davis. However, Hannah refused to be called anything other then Hannah Rose Madison though loving her Jacob whom she called Father, dearly. As much as Dan had wanted to learn about his past, Hannie was just as fervent in her quest to learn about her absent birth father. At nineteen Hannie and her brother were older then their father ever got a chance to be.

"Is that when you went to London as a girl?" Hannah Rose's dearest companion and sister, fifteen year old Emma questioned their mother flipping through a few of Bess' paintings.

"No Emmy this one's from Paris, my favorite." Bess stated brushing the dust off the painting and mumbling something in French.

"Do you ever want to go back, mother?" Hannie questioned further. It was hard to picture her mother with a life before this one on their small modest farm, hardly more then a few miles away from where her mother and her grandmother and her great grandmother grew up; with six children, two younger sisters Sara and Grace following Emma at eleven and five respectfully and a newborn baby brother Henry Laurence underfoot, leaving hardly any time for painting or holidays in Europe.

"Maybe someday," Bess stated quickly as the she heard a cry from the bedroom. "Henry needs to be feed. Keep any that you'd like, put the rest in the trunk."

Hannah had her sights on college, she wanted to become a writer like her Great Aunt Jo. Being a young wife and mother was not something Hannie had any intention of being. She loved her mother but they couldn't have been anymore different, the tall athletic beauty with wavy almost black hair and her sparkling blue eyes, the only thing that allowed her to believe that she was in fact Bess Davis' child, stood in contrast to the delicate doll like features of her mother. Who'd rather play stickball then take courses of Latin and home etiquette from her Grandmother Amy. Danny always said that if she'd been born a boy Hannie would be a lawyer by now with her stubborn ways and constant need to win an argument.

"How are my girls?" Jacob questioned breaking Hannie's thoughts and kissing each on the forehead and dropping a few letters on the kitchen table. "I have a surprise for you." her father stated opening the door behind him to reveal Aunt Nan and Uncle Nat with little Luke Blake sucking his thumb and sleeping soundly in his father's arms.

Bess returned from the bedchamber stopping to kiss her husband home passionately. "How was South America?" she questioned her friends hugging them eagerly. The past year Nan and Nat had taken to traveling, offering services wherever they went, doing something a dear friend had so longed to do once, Bess felt that they were just running away. Running away from the death of their little girl.

Nan talked to her nieces tenderly, stopping at Hannah last. "Have you heard from that women's college yet?" Hannah Rose thought Aunt Nan and Uncle Nat couldn't have been more different. Nan was pushy and spontaneous and Nat was reserved and quiet. Different like how she envisioned Dan and Bess were. Different like Father and Mother are.

"Oh that!" Hannah stated running toward the table. By the time she shuffled though the stack of letters everyone's attention had already turned to Henry. Instead of finding an acceptance note she found a hastily scribbled letter addressed to a Mr. Daniel Madison care of Plumfield School, Concord Massachusetts; from a Mrs. Katherine Sullivan Thomas, Denver, Colorado. It had been years since her brother had used that name, though she herself always referred to him as Danny and it had been nearly two years since Danny attended Plumfield. Hannie looked around the room and opened the letter quickly.

May 3rd, 1894

Dearest Dan,

Hello little brother. It has taken me too long to find you. Please respond.

Yours,

Kate

A letter addressed to her long deceased father, was a much better find then an acceptance letter, Hannie raced to her room carrying the precious mail. She knew her father's history far too well, this letter must be from the family he had looked for all his life. Unfortunately, her mother didn't see that as clearly.

"You have no reason to believe that what this women says is true." Bess Davis stated as she juggled Henry on her knee while breaking up a fight between little Gracie and Sara.

"Your mother's right, Hannie." Nan Blake piped in.

"Hannah Rose, I'm done talking about his with you. You should be focusing on college, your already a year behind." Bess said sighing.

Hannie sighed as well in frustration. Her mother knew more then anyone why she stayed behind an extra year at Plumfield. Bess had been pregnant with Henry and Hannah knew her mother would need an extra hand around the homestead.

"He's my father!" Hannah yelled running out of the house. Bess never talked about Dan with her children or anyone else, it was like she locked that life far away. Still, she never knew how much that hurt her children to know nothing about their father. To them Dan was just some ghostly figure, a stranger really.

Little Henry started crying at his sister's anguish. "What am I going to do with her?" Bess stated to no one.

"Dan always wondered about his past. He would have wanted his daughter to know about him." Nat suddenly spoke up to no one, to his friend. Bess had made sure that her first husband was rarely mention and now after so long a wad of emotions began to fill up with in her. Bess looked to her husband for support.

"Do you want me to go after her?" Jacob replied touching his wife's shoulder and taking his son into his arms. There was no difference between Henry and Will, to Jacob, between Emma and Hannie, he had six children-he had fallen in love with the twins when he had fallen in love with their mother.

"No. She went to William's, he'll knock some sense into her." Bess stated returning back to what she was doing, back from the past to the present where she had made sure for the nineteen years that she stayed.


	7. Act II

Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Seven: Act II

Hannah and Daniel looked nothing alike really. Hannah with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Daniel with brown eyes and blondish brown hair. Daniel looked more like Emma, Sarah, and Grace with their light brown hair and brown eyes. Henry with his fiery red hair and blue eyes. Will was pensive and reasonable like the rest of the family, Hannie stood out like a sore thumb, hot heated with a temper even hotter.

"Why do you care so much, Hannie? He did nothing for you, didn't even know you existed." stated Will Davis. For the second Daniel Madison, it hurt to much to be without a father for so long. He resented Dan so much for dying, for abandoning him. Wounds that deep take a long time to heal. Hannah Rose saw it differently, it was not their father's fault that he died, she saw that clearly. Hannie couldn't leave him dead and buried- her hair, Danny's eyes, the way he walked, all belonged to their father and she needed to know more.

They couldn't have been closer, but at times Danny drove Hannah Rose crazy, like his ridiculous need to be called William Davis instead of his birth name, how everyone did just as he asked. He had always went along with everything, fitting in perfect in his life. Danny became a carpenter like Jacob, even maturing faster then Hannah. Danny and his wife Alice were expecting their first child in the winter.

Hannah had the beauty of her mother, the elegance of an ape and the manner of an adolescent male.

"You never did understand, Danny." Hannie sighed for the second time that night, looking out the window.

"Come on Hannie, don't pout. Have some tea before you get home. I miss talkin' to my big sister."

"I'm going to Colorado." Hannah Rose announced in the middle of her grandmother's parlor several weeks later. Bess, Amy, Jo, Meg, Nan and Emmy stared at Hannah blankly.

"What ever for?" Emma stated hurt, it was the first time her sister hadn't shared something this grand before to her.

"Papa's, Dan's, sister wrote me back she asked me to visit her in Denver."

"How do you know that this woman is really Dan's sister?" Jo questioned. The years had aged her, Sam was off and married living in New York City, Rob away in Europe, Nick and Jo's two younger sons, Teddy and Mike almost men at fourteen and thirteen. She had seen dozens of Plumfield students begin and end their schooling at Plumfield but none touched Jo as much as Dan, Nat, Nan, Bess, Tommy, and Emil.

"The way she described him is just like your stories, Aunt Jo. Besides she said he had a birthmark exactly where he had one." Hannah Rose offered not daring to look her mother in the eye.

Katherine Sullivan Thomas, making Daniel Madison really Daniel Sullivan, had been eleven years old when their parents Maggie and Michael Sullivan died of Typhoid Fever on the streets of Boston in late 1857. Dan was only two years old and Kate found it hard to keep track of the rambunctious Dan and their seven year old brother Paddy. One day Dan wondered off and Kate had been looking for him ever since. However, she and Paddy were sent on an orphan train out west, and Kate gave up hope of ever finding her brother. Until eighteen years later when she saw an old story in a Boston newspaper, describing a lost boy who eventually ended up in the care of a Mr. Theodore Laurence of Concord, Massachusetts.

This had stated with Katie forever: "Dan," the little girl started: "Ma and Pa are gone, they'll be gone for a long time."

"Will you go to Katie?" the dark haired toddler asked his sister looking deep in her eyes.

"No, I'll be here. I'll take care of you always." Kate had said and in the end she hadn't kept her promise. It pained her to know that Dan had died without ever knowing who he was.

Amy dropped her paint brush abruptly. She hadn't been any happier to learn of Bess' engagement to a carpenter but had let it go for her daughter's sake. Children weren't meant to be replicas of their parent's wishes. Still she hadn't been able to protect Bess, and now she wished to protect her granddaughter in some way from the dangers of the world." A young lady your age shouldn't be traveling alone."

"Grandmother I'll be fine, really. I have to do this. Besides Danny has no interest." Hannah Rose stood firmly. Everyone wished to keep their demons hidden: Bess' Dan, Jo's Fritz, Nan's baby, Meg's John, the March girls' Beth. But, Hannah didn't wish to be like her family, moving on didn't mean forgetting. "I'm going and that is all there is too it. I'm nineteen years old I can make decisions on my own." the young girl stated running out for a second time. Emma sat up to go comfort her sister but this time Bess stopped her. "I'll go."

Once again Bess knew exactly where to find her sullen daughter at the once place Hannie always went when she thought all had failed her. She stood at her father's grave rubbing his epitaph. "Why did you leave before I got a chance to know you?"

"I miss him too."

Hannah turned around quickly. There her mother stood, tears in her eyes. Suddenly Bess felt like she was seventeen years old again, alone, pregnant and scared. Standing over the grave of the only man she thought she'd ever love. "When I was young I thought marrying him was a good idea, I was in love and he was dying. I thought it was my only chance. But you and William had to grow up without knowing your father. I don't think that was fair."

For the first time in a long time, Hannah felt like she belonged.

Hannah Rose sat nervously tugging at her new dress. She was on a train headed for Colorado. The past had held her down for so long, that was the real reason why she postponed college, her life. She had been jealous of Danny, of her mother who seemed so intent on living out their lives looking forward. But Hannah had been different she couldn't look forward without knowing how she got there. She would find out about her father's past for him, for herself and the lives of her family would go on back in Concord, and afterwards hers would to.

THE END

A/N: Please review, as much fun as I had writing "Farewell Appearance" I hope you've had reading it!


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